How To Succeed As A Digital Nomad: 4 Tips To Build Your Network

We’ve all heard the line: “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” The Jim Rohn quote has been repeated so many times, it’s practically a cliché. But it also happens to be true, especially when you’re forging a non-traditional career path.

“When I first arrived in Chiang Mai a few years ago, I was on a $600 a month budget and was hanging out with people on the same,” says Johnny FD, who became a location independent entrepreneur while living in Thailand. “As soon as I started meeting and spending time with people who make $5,000+ a month, I knew I had two choices. I could either increase my income to keep up with [them] and their travels or I could go back to hanging out with those who were broke.”

FD chose the former, and he’s since built multiple income streams that earn him nearly $250,000 a year. As he and other successful digital nomads know, a good community is key when building a business while traveling. Of course, networking as an online entrepreneur who rotates between countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, is quite different from networking in a more traditional 9-5 role.

“People tend to have more time, and the networking tends to be more fun than cheesey business card trading sessions,” says Dan O’Donnell, who launched the board game Better Me while living in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “We tend to go spend hours discussing ideas at a coffee shop or going to the pool together. I enjoy the lack of ‘business laughs,’ ties, and fake smiles.”

Customers work from a coffee shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Photographer: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg

But working those connections takes conscientiousness and effort. Although digital nomads can often work from anywhere there's a wifi connection, including their own apartments, the most successful location independent entrepreneurs develop solid relationships that deepen as they cross paths around the world.

Here’s how digital nomads can build and enhance their global networks:

1. Wake up in time for breakfast.

Entrepreneur and angel investor Sam Marks spends three to four months a year in Chiang Mai, and he swears by the city’s breakfast scene. “What Chiang Mai really lacked four years ago was a good breakfast place,” Marks says. Now there are at least 12 worthwhile eateries in the popular Nimmanhaemin neighborhood alone, which is already a popular area among digital nomads.

“Get on a rotation of going to a new breakfast place each day,” Marks advises. They’re great spots to cross paths with other entrepreneurs and meet people in the network. He recommends Rustic & Blue and Healthy B Cafe, where you’ll find “lots of professionals throughout the day.”

The advice stands for nomads in any city. Scouting out the best coffee shops is a good way to meet entrepreneurial peers and find out about meet-ups and events. Although it’s tempting to work crazy hours and hole up in an inexpensive home office, connecting with others is crucial to building and growing a business. Breakfast may be as important to your business as it is to your health.

2. Get involved.

“Your first week, get involved in as many networks as possible,” Marks says. “It’s extremely easy to get plugged into the social and professional network.”

Most digital nomad hubs have multiple
Facebook groups dedicated to sharing information and arranging events. O’Donnell runs the Chiang Mai Digital Nomads Facebook group, and similar groups exist for popular locations such as Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bali.

“From the business standpoint, Asia is booming right now,” says Ian Ord, founder of the boutique travel company Where Sidewalks End (WSE Travel). “Join as many meetup groups as you can within your niche, and put yourself and your business out there.”

Ord recommends Travel Massive for travel industry networking, and there are other online communities that offer business support as well. The Dynamite Circle offers business forums, mastermind groups, and a range of other benefits through its paid membership program. Location Rebel provides courses and forums on how to run and develop online businesses.

3. Don’t be an askhole.

Many successful digital nomads are happy to share their wisdom with newcomers, so ask them out for coffee or a beer and make the most of those connections. But don’t waste their time. Act on the advice they offer and let them know how it worked out for you.

“It’s no fun for mentors if they make an effort to help you and you don’t apply their advice,” O’Donnell says. “But if they see you taking action and trying to learn, many times people will enjoy giving you some advice now and then.”

Do your research before asking potential mentors for a sit down as well. “When it comes to networking with those who are more successful than you, don't ask them any questions they haven't already answered on their blog, podcast or written in their books,” FD says. “We love helping people succeed but hate repeating ourselves, as we know how valuable our time is.”

4. Abandon your dreams of becoming the next Tim Ferriss—at least for now.

“It's important to remember that The Four Hour Work Week is not the reality for most digital nomads,” says Erica Blair, a marketing strategist who is based in Chiang Mai and documents digital nomad life on Snapchat as @TheEricaBlair. “The far, far majority of us work normal work hours or far more. So it's important to realize that you've actually got to invest time in your business if you want it to grow. Just because you've chosen to be a digital nomad does not mean you get to spend your days on vacation.”

The key is to find a place that has the infrastructure to enable online work and the social appeal to draw a strong community of professionals. Choose a location that offers a good quality of life, low cost of living, and reliable WiFi. FD recommends Chiang Mai, which is a prime hub for location independent entrepreneurs. Bangkok offers a “slightly more matured business scene,” according to Ord, and Blair notes that Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is a “surprisingly awesome nomad hub if you like large, bustling cities.”

Wherever you choose to launch your life of entrepreneurship and nomadism, put in the time to build relationships there. As Blair says, “I've actually connected with more people who are building interesting and inspiring careers while traveling in Asia than I ever did when I was living in America.”

Casey Hynes is a freelance journalist and content marketing writer with extensive experience covering tech, entrepreneurship, and human rights in Asia. She graduated from Columbia Journalism School in 2008 and has written for The Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, South China M...